5 Most Heartbreaking and Disappointing New Jersey Devils Losses Ever
Losing is what makes being a sports fan significant. Still, a heartbreaking loss or a disappointing loss can leave you feeling sadder, and the New Jersey Devils have left their fans feeling this way throughout their history.
This New Jersey Devils season understandably has been upsetting, with so many losses, blown leads and no effort. It got us thinking about the other times this team has lost. There were times this team made us feel much worse?
Throughout the 38 years of the New Jersey Devils, we’ve not only dealt with big wins, but also losses that endured through our minds forever. These are the five most heartbreaking and disappointing losses in the teams’ history in my opinion. And remember, you can always tweet me to see if you have your bitter memory that’s not on here.
5. October 4th 2019 Four-goal Lead Lost vs the Winnipeg Jets
To start, let’s look at the most recent loss on this list. Fans couldn’t wait to see what this brand new Devils team with rookie Jack Hughes, new winger Nikita Gusev, big defenseman P.K. Subban, also newly acquired Wayne Simmonds, and the rest of the team looked like on the ice vs. the Winnipeg Jets. When the game began, we saw how different the team played. They were a lot faster and playing more efficiently.
It would take 18 minutes for Nikita Gusev to make his first big impact as an NHL player by scoring his first goal to put the Devils on top. When the 2nd period came, the Devils domination continued. Two goals were scored by Blake Coleman, while Sami Vatanen scored the other one. When the score was 3-0, Blake Coleman did the unthinkable. While falling, he used one arm to shoot the puck past Laurent Brossoit. Jets fans were happy to get on the board at the end of the second period thanks to Dmitry Kulikov.
When the third period started, Devils fans and the organization saw the Devils chance at an incredible season come to an end. When Jack Roslovic made it a two-goal game, Cory Schenider looked like he suffered an injury and had to leave the game. After all the hype going into the first game of the season, he goes down almost an hour later. MacKenzie Blackwood had to come in to finish the job. Then, John Hynes made a decision that impacted everything.
After he saw the Devils playing poorly, he decided to change the lines despite them playing well throughout the game. The style of play after those lines changes did not work. The Jets eventually tied the game at four with goals by Mathieu Perreault and Neal Pionk. The teams were tied at four by the end of the 3rd, so overtime was next, and no one had scored, but Jack Hughes almost had a breakaway towards the end that would’ve made things interesting.
The shootout was next, and while Nikita Gusev scored for the Devils, goals by Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor secured the win for the Jets. This loss closed our season early and made the fans angry and upset. Jack Hughes did not have the performance we all wanted, but that’s ok, not every rookie will achieve in their first game. Nikita Gusev did look good, though. At least if you were a Yankee fan like I am, we had the win against the Twins in Game 1 of the ALDS to help us sleep at night. While blowing a big lead in a loss at the beginning of the season is horrible, it’s nowhere near the worst loss ever.
4. November 13 1983- Mickey Mouse Game vs the Edmonton Oilers
When a new NHL franchise comes along, it can be very tough to make a name for yourself as a dominant NHL franchise. While Seattle has yet to pick a mascot for their team, they can still learn from a good example and a bad example of how a team should play in its first few years.
A good example would be the Colorado Avalanche back in 1996. Their first season ended with them winning the Stanley Cup. The bad example comes from the New Jersey Devils. This comes from their 2nd season as a franchise. In the 1983-84 season, the Devils were an elementary team to beat, getting only two wins on their record before this matchup.
This matchup made the Devils look like they didn’t even deserve an NHL franchise by the way they played. To understand how bad the matchup was, let’s process the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s. Many people consider them the most outstanding team of that decade. They aren’t wrong. This team looked dominant, and it wasn’t just because of Wayne Gretzky. They had players that dominated like Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, and goalie Grant Fuhr.
With future legends like those, you’d think the Devils would try to play as a significant underdog in this matchup. However, with both those statements I mentioned earlier did come into play. When the game went underway, the Devils looked to get ahead in the game early, and they did just that with two early goals coming 1:24 apart. Dave Cameron scored a PP goal, then another by Jan Ludvig. Then, what Edmonton did next explains why it’s always tough to play against the Oilers in the ’80s.
The Oilers went on to score 13 goals. Just seeing 13 goals scored on a franchise is just gut-wrenching. Imagine being in the crowd in the Northlands Coliseum that night, people would have already left by the 7th goal or 8th goal. It’s no surprise that Wane Gretzky had the most points in this game with eight, including a hat trick, but there were many other contributors. Two other Oilers had hat tricks that were in this game; one scored by Willy Lindstrom and the other by Jari Kurri. While Jeff Larmer scored two goals and Paul Gange scored as well for the Devils, it was clear the Oilers were not messing around here. While 13 goals are horrid enough, this is not the main reason why many people recognize this game.
After the game was over, Gretzky had an interview when he call this “putting a Mickey Mouse organization on the ice.” He seemed right on that quote because what people saw on that ice surface was so wrong. You might think if this loss was so bad, why isn’t this higher? Well, to answer that question, first, the Devils this season were able to rebound this loss and faced the Oilers again, and while both games lead to another defeat and a tie, it wasn’t as bad as this one. The second reason is that the rest of the losses you are about to read are playoff losses.
3. April 28, 2009 Game 7 vs Carolina Hurricanes
In any playoff series in any sport, both teams have to fight to not only stay alive, but to show future opponents they could face a great challenge leading to a stunning upset. Giving your opponent any chance can cost you the entire season, and that’s what happened to the 2009 New Jersey Devils. The 2009 New Jersey Devils gave us some of the best moments like Martin Brodeur beating out Patrick Roy to become the winningest goaltender in NHL History. Devils also won the Atlantic Division that year, giving them a three-seed when the playoffs started.
The Devils faced the Carolina Hurricanes who were the six seed that year. The Devils won Game 1 by the score of 4-1, but lost Game 2 in overtime, to split both games at home, and vice versa in Carolina. Devils won Game 3 in overtime thanks to Travis Zajac, but lost Game 4 which in a controversial manner, with a goal that beat the buzzer. Martin Brodeur was bumped into by Jussi Jokinen, which should have been a goalie interference penalty. Game 5 did go right for the Devils as David Clarkson led them to victory. Game 6 though back in Carolina had the Hurricanes scoring four goals, two of them being by Eric Staal. Now we come to Game 7, both teams have gone through so much and both teams attempt to move on to the next round.
As Game 7 began, the Hurricanes tried looking for early momentum, and thanks to Tuomo Ruutu, the Hurricanes got on the board first. For the Hurricanes, it didn’t take long for the Devils to strike back. Jamie Langenbrunner scored 1:29 later to tie the game at 1. For the Devils to win this game, they needed to capitalize and play harder than the Hurricanes did, and Jay Pandolfo did just that. Pandolfo received a pass from John Madden and buried it on a backhand to put the Devils up top 2-1.
Ray Whitney eventually tied the game at 2, Then, the Hurricanes made the crucial Game 7 mistake when Matt Cullen took a penalty for slashing. Because of that, the Devils took advantage of it and took a 3-2 lead when Brian Rolston scored on the power play. Unfortunately, this would be the last time the Devils and their fans celebrated a goal because it would be the Devils’ turn to make a mistake. This mistake involved them not scoring another goal, because as anyone learns in any sports series, don’t let your opponent stick around. The Hurricanes were about to perform one of the biggest moments in their franchise history.
With 1:20 left to go in the game, Jussi Jokinen made it a tie game 3-3. Now the Devils could have forced OT, but the Hurricanes wanted to crush the hearts of every Devils fan in the world. Eric Staal scored just 48 seconds later. Staal put a wrist shot that beat Brodeur to give Hurricanes a 4-3 lead with under 31.7 seconds to go.
The Hurricanes won the game and got to the Eastern Conference Finals before being eliminated. This loss was such a big heartbreak for the Devils, by not scoring another goal, and letting your opponent score two goals on you late in a Game 7. Lessons from any team in any playoff scenario, don’t let this happen to you. Keep playing until the clock reaches zero and win.
2. June 7th 2001 vs Colorado Avalanche- Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final
Just one year earlier, Jason Arnott scored the clinching goal in the 2 OT in Game 6 of the 2000 Stanley Cup Final. Now with the 2001 season underway, the Devils started their title defense. The 2001 team wanted to push hard for another Cup, and coach Larry Robinson was there to make sure they played harder and harder until they won another championship.
Patrik Elias made his case as one of the best players in the NHL that season. They managed to win the Atlantic Division and secure a one seed in the playoffs. For them to get back the Cup back in their possession, they had to prove why they wanted to win again.
After beating the Hurricanes, Maple Leafs and Penguins, Devils opponent in the Stanley Cup was the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche were the President’s Trophy winners. You may remember certain names from that team, like Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, and a guy who has waited all his life to win a Stanley Cup, Ray Borque. This series turned out to be a great series, with the Avalanche winning the first game in Colorado, showing the Devils that this team was going for a historic Cup win of their own. The Devils won Games 2 and 3 to go up 2-1, but the Avalanche won Game 4 to even the series. Back in Colorado again, the Devils needed a win to try to push the Avalanche over a tiny edge of a cliff while still surviving, and the Devils made sure that would happen as they won Game 5 to get a chance to raise a 2nd Stanley Cup at home.
Now here we are at Game 6. The summary will be short since the Devils didn’t score, and that’s why this is the second-worst Devils loss of all time. The fact that the Devils got shutout at home in this giant game is a travesty. The Devils did get close. Seven minutes in, Scott Gomez had the puck close to Patrick Roy, and it looked like he scored to put the Devils on top early. However, the ref then waved his hands, signaling no goal. From what we saw on replay, Scott Gomez kicked the puck in the net, which any NHL player knows you cannot do. The Avalanche then took control of the entire series.
Late in the 1st period, Adam Foote put the first goal in for the Avalanche to make it 1-0. Then in the 2nd period, a Bobby Holik roughing penalty gave the Avalanche a power play. Ville Nieminen took this as a chance for the team to take a big lead. He deflected a Martin Skoula shot, and it was now 2-0 Avalanche. The Avalanche needed just one more goal to make this almost impossible for the Devils to come back, and with two minutes to go in the 2nd period, one of the best goal scorers in the playoffs got that done for the Avalanche. Chris Drury was able to deke out Colin White and buried it past Brodeur to put the Avalanche up 3-0.
Continental Airlines Arena was in stunned silence. The Devils did not have any answers for the Avalanche. The Avalanche had already won the game, but even though the game was not officially over, Alex Tanguay felt he wanted something to contribute. In the 3rd period, he scored to put this game to rest, Patrick Roy got another playoff shutout of his career to add, and now it all comes down to Game 7.
In Game 7, the Devils’ chances of a title defense were dead. The Avalanche won Game 7 by a score of 3-1. Alex Tanguay had the best game of his career by scoring two goals, and the Avalanche had also won their second Cup in 5 years. However, this Stanley Cup was special because of Ray Borque. Throughout his career, he had never won a Stanley Cup, so to see him win one is heartwarming. If you were a Devils fan at this time, you were very upset when this game was over. Let us be happy that the Devils made 2 cup appearances in a row, so this season wasn’t a big giant waste after all. The Avalanche played better at the right time.
If you think to yourself why wasn’t Game 7 the choice instead of Game 6, let’s explain. The Devils had a chance to win the Cup at home in Game 6, when you have an opportunity you clinch another Stanley Cup at home but fail to score a single goal, it’s worse than losing a Game 7. We at least got a goal in that Game 7.
1. May 27, 1994 Game 7 Eastern Conference Finals vs New York Rangers
Well, before we get to all those details of this game, let’s look at the team overall in 1993-94. The Devils during the season were the second-best team in the Conferece, with big powerhouse Scott Stevens becoming captain and lead the team in points with 60 assists. You also have Stephane Richer with had both 34 goals and 34 assists.
While the offense and defense were outstanding, these all pale in comparison to the season Martin Brodeur had. Brodeur’s first season as starting goaltender showed us why he eventually had a Hall of Fame career in his first full season as a starting goalie. He won 27 games, and took home the Calder Trophy that year. All the while, Chris Terreri was backing him up with a 20 win season of his own.
The New York Rangers this season were the best team in the NHL, and were looking for their 54-year cup curse to end. Mark Messier, Brian Leetch, or their outstanding goaltender Mike Richter make up their most recognizable players. There also some proper names like Sergei Zubov, Esa Tikkanen, and Jeff Beukeboom. As for their playoff journey, they only lost one game before facing the Devils, sweeping the New York Islanders, and beating the Washington Capitals in five games. Only losing once in the playoffs seemed huge for them, and now they had a chance to beat another rival to get to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Three games in the series made it to the 2nd overtime. The Devils won the first game thanks to Stephen Richer. The Rangers would win Games 2 and 3, which Game 3 also had a 2nd overtime goal, on a name we would hear later, Stephan Matteau.
We eventually get to Game 7, a game the Rangers captain was not letting them lose, and he said as much.
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For starters, no goals were scored in the 1st period, making fans nervous on both sides. The Rangers fans had nothing to worry about in the 2nd period as Brian Leetch got the 1st goal that made fans feel a little comfortable. Leetch spun around when he had possession of the puck, and when the puck slid under Brodeur. After the 2nd period was over, Devils fans who were sitting home watching the game were more feeling sad at first after Leetch scored, but some fans knew they could look to get the big tying goal. To do that, let’s look toward the final minute of the third. You were having your heart pounding at that time, asking yourself, ‘when will the Devils get that goal?’. The Devils fans’ prayer’s for a goal were about to be answered thanks to Valeri Zelepukin. Under 8 seconds left in regulation, Claude Lemieux passes the puck in front of Richter to Valeri Zelepukin, who had to poke the puck twice to beat Richter. Richter tried arguing for a call, but the referee said he did not see any interference on that play. At home, you were jumping up and down, maybe hugging your family, who knows, the Devils had just tied the biggest game of their season. Now with maximum pressure building on both teams, it had to be settled in overtime, but once again, no team in the 1st overtime scored, so for the 3rd time this season, it went into 2nd overtime. One person had to end this series, and for one player in blue, he was about to become our mortal enemy for 18 years.
This goal defined the bond between Devils and Rangers fans throughout the ’90s and early 2000s. If you knew someone who was a Rangers fan at this time, they would be this goal up frequently, and you probably still hear about the call of the end of the game today from Ranger fans, even though the other game in 2012 haunted Ranger fans. I know it’s tough for us to remind ourselves about this goal, but it is an essential piece in NHL history, and it affects both teams in positive ways. So let’s talk about the goal and the famous call by Howie Rose.
Just 4 minutes into the 2nd overtime, Stephen Matteau takes the puck and wraps it behind Brodeur. The puck gets under him and go’s into the back of the net. The Rangers win and move on to the Stanley Cup finals. Fans who watched at home felt heartbroken, a chance to prove ourselves as a dominant team in the playoffs, went up in flames because of number 32 in the Rangers jersey. However, there is one more important part of this goal. Howie Rose, who did this game for the Rangers radio, used this quote that Ranger fans kept repeating to us; “Matteau! “Matteau! Matteau! Stephan Matteau!” Those words continue to haunt us forever, but 18 years later, we got our revenge back from them. Despite us losing this game, there is something positive about this game. The Devils did have a good season, and that goal helped us gain our confidence back and helped motivated us to win the cup the very next season. This loss not only proves show two teams can have positive outlooks but also two crucial states.